Final Cut Pro and Long Format TV

[Walter Biscardi]

[Joe Espina] ” Is it reliable? “

Yep. Over 100 broadcast HD masters delivered here in the last four years. 22 to 60 minute episodic television and documentaries along with some 60+ minute independent projects.

We’re gearing up for four major HD documentaries in 2009. We work with DVCPro HD (Varicam / HVX-900) and HDV footage that we transcode to DVCPro HD. You can click on my profile to see the setups in the three edit suites.

High speed RAID is a must. We run the MaxxDigital EVO HD unit right now but are switching over to 24TB Shared storage using the new Maxx Expando Chassis come December.

AJA Kona boards are a must. We run the Kona 3 as it does everything we need and then some.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

Read my Blog!

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[Shane Ross]

[Joe Espina] “Just wondering what the consensus is on laying off 30-60 min shows on Final Cut Pro HD systems. Is it reliable?”

Totally. I have used this for hour shows and two hour shows, History channel and Discovery. For 30 second commercials as well as 10 min corporate videos. Just need to invest in a good capture card, like the AJA Kona series.

[Joe Espina] “What types of workflows are you working with? “

DVCPRO HD, both tape and P2. Also added beta and DV upconverted to HD
Digibeta, beta, DV
HDCAM and XDCAM from the EX1 (tapeless) mixed.

[Joe Espina] “We’re looking to upgrade storage, buy an HDCamSR deck, and have proper monitoring in place for HD playback “

All very doable. I have a MacPro 3.0Ghz with an AJA Kona 3 and an HD CRT. HD LCDs are now more the norm, and there are plenty to choose from. I use the CalDigit HD One Raid, but have also used the EVO HD from MaxxDigital…both work well.

FCP is found in a LOT of broadcast work.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Richard Sanchez]

It’s fine. We’re cutting an hour long series for History on it right now. As Shane and Walter said, you want a Kona 3. We shoot on Varicam and P2, but the footage we receive as evidence ranges from DV, to H.264, MPG4, Betacam, VHS, we even had one Betamax tape. All that is put together and laid off to D5.

I think it goes without saying, that if you’ve never done this before, you want hire someone who has onto your team.

Richard Sanchez
North Hollywood, CA

“We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.” – Bill Hicks

[Baz Leffler]

[Joe Espina] “My company is interested in taking on Long Format HD jobs.”

Hey Joe – if your business is based in Sydney, Australia then the answer to…

[Joe Espina] “Is it reliable?”

NO!… it is a piece of crap!… but elsewhere in the world it is a fantastic HD production worktool as the others here have endorsed.

So why is it a piece of crap in Sydney, Australia? Well its because thats where my company is and thats what I specialise in; FCP short/long form HD mastering; and there’s not enough business now let alone another player in the game. Most people here are Avid and have their share of problems but I am FCP and can’t remember the last problem I had let alone ever not making a deadline. So go for it and get that SR deck before Sony up their prices to make up for the economic meltdown!

BAz

What would I do without the ‘UNDO’ button!!!!

[Joe Espina]

Guys,

Thank you for your responses.

We are geared Blackmagic here Decklink HD Pro here and I’m pretty sure boss man wants to keep these cards. Any heads up on these?

As far as frame accuracy in laying off from Final Cut, what steps need to be done to make sure I hit on every frame I intend to start on? Frequency Settings, Reference, HD Sync.

Sorry if this is too broad of a question guys. I’m quoting out components I need right now and I just want to make sure I know what I’m asking.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

Joe E.

[Joe Espina]

Hey Walter,

Why is Kona 3 a must? What makes this card better than the Black Magic Decklinks?

I’ve only known Black Magic since I’ve switched over from Avid Adrenaline to work here.

I’m curious to know also what steps need to be taken to make sure Tapes are being laid of frame accurate

Thanks Walter,
Joe

[Walter Biscardi]

[Joe Espina] “Why is Kona 3 a must? What makes this card better than the Black Magic Decklinks? “

Everything is truly realtime, no rendering involved. SD to HD. HD to SD. 720 to 1080. 1080 to 720. You can also do multiple conversion in a single pass as the Kona has three outputs. You can view your project in HD and SD simultaneously to see how your project will play back in SD if need be. All in true broadcast quality.

The Konas also act as a stand alone converter with all the features intact allowing you to make conversions deck to deck or deck to DVD recorder if you need to make dubs and conversions but don’t want to tie up an FCP system. We use this to make DigiBeta dubs to our UVW-1800 allowing the Kona 3 to convert the SDI to Analog Component / Analog Audio while I use the workstation for something else, even FCP editing.

They cost more, but AJA is all I use.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

Read my Blog!

STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!

[Baz Leffler]

[walter biscardi] “We use this to make DigiBeta dubs to our UVW-1800 allowing the Kona 3 to convert the SDI to Analog Component / Analog Audio”

What Walter meant to say was “We use this to make DigiBeta to SP beta dubs on our UVW-1800 allowing the Kona 3 to convert the SDI to Analog Component / Analog Audio” (meaning a UVW is not a Digibeta but an SP)

[walter biscardi] “Everything is truly realtime, no rendering involved. SD to HD. HD to SD. 720 to 1080. 1080 to 720. You can also do multiple conversion in a single pass as the Kona has three outputs. You can view your project in HD and SD simultaneously to see how your project will play back in SD if need be. All in true broadcast quality.”

Ditto with some of the Blackmagic products too. Aja is a great album by Steely Dan and Blackmagic is what you use on your enemy!

BAz

What would I do without the ‘UNDO’ button!!!!

[Shane Ross]

Decklink are good cards too, just the AJA does more. I know plenty of people who use and like Decklink cards. I happen to use AJA, but that’s because it does what I need it to do. BlackMagic will do what you want.

Frame accuracy is spot on when you do straight SD outputs to SD. Simple as marking IN on your timeline, blacking the first 2 min of the tape, then marking IN on the tape at the same point, and dragging the sequence to the output window. Downconversions slip a few frames, and a few trials and errors will get you this offset.

Make sure your EASY SETUPS match your footage, then go into the SYSTEM SETTINGS and make sure that the deck controls match that of your particular deck. Fairly easy compared to Avid really.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Mark Raudonis]

Joe,

There’s been tons of debate here RE: AJA vs Blackmagic. Do a search. Most people agree that AJA wins for tech support and warranty, BM is cheaper.

As for frame accuracy, there’s no substitute for testing and calibrating your deck, system, and card. You can get to frame accurate eventually, but don’t expect to nail it on the first try.

I’ll echo Shane and Walter’s endorsement of FCP for long form. We’ve been ALL FCP, all the time for the past four years. Hundreds of hours of programs for MTV, E!, Lifetime, Fox and many more.

The secret to success with FCP is NOT to treat it like a toy. Surround yourself with the tools and equipment of a high end, professional on-line suite and you won’t be disappointed. If you cut corners and eliminate certain tools you can expect poor results. You control the equation. It often has less to do with FCP than other related tools. Like, for example, do you have a waveform/vectorscope? Closed caption inserter? Hardware legalizer? These are the things that professionals rely upon to get the job done. You might get lucky and run without these things, but eventually you WILL get burned.

Good luck.

Mark